Page 12 - July 2005 The Game

12 The Game, July 2005 Your Thoroughbred Racing Community Newspaper
To misquote the old saying ‘No help, no horse’.
In the old days in England, when the standard mode of transportation was horseback or horse and carriage, grooms were an integral part of a house- hold or business. He was expected to maintain that transportation in good working order much as a mechanic keeps your car running today and young lads were trained from an early age in the craft of horsemanship. In the racing world then, as it is now, grooms were especially important and apprentices often lived with the trainer and his family.
Of course, in class conscious English racing there were distinctions—a sort of caste system and so there were grooms and there were ‘guineas’. You see a groom was paid a pound or 20 shillings a month in those days, however the most experienced and reliable man was paid a guinea, a form of old English currency worth 21 shillings. Hence that man was called a ‘guinea’ indicating he was worth a bit more. The practice is still around today. Many barns have a reliable groom the trainer can depend on and usually pays a bit more.
If things are to be measured in dollars and cents the help he employs is one of the most important currencies a trainer has - especially the grooms. A good groom or ‘guinea’ that can recognize the early signs of injury or ailments and treat them accordingly can save the trainer money and often costly vet bills.
Back in the day a groom went through an apprenticeship of sorts. He (there were few women around racetracks then) did menial tasks around the barn before he became a hotwalker, a job he did for a year or two before he was allowed to care for the stable pony. He learned from the trainer, the old timers and grooms he worked with. Learning the proper way to brush a horse, how to put on standing bandages, how to put on tack, treat thrush, or eventually practice the art of running bandages - with the proper tension and a good figure eight.
A groom learned about the foot ailments and various problems associated with training and racing and how to treat them with liniments, paints and poultices - injuries now often treated by
veterinary procedures and expensive drugs. Nowadays around the track you hear trainers bemoaning the lack of competent help. "It’s hard to get good help these days," is a common refrain. Or
"the kids these days don’t want to learn."
The decline in numbers (and in respect for the trade) I think began with the invention of the hotwalking machine. A labour saving device to be sure but one that eliminated the need for hotwalkers and therefore apprentice grooms - not to mention
the time-honoured retirement for old racetrackers. Of course tight money didn’t help and in my opinion neither did inner-city social workers sending street kids and homeless people to the
racetrack.
Don’t get me wrong here. The racetrack is a good
life and many a good groom came from those who were runaways or just down and out. But we need to train them, not treat them as a source of cheap labour.
Good backstretch help is, as I said, the best resource we have and many trainers treat their help with respect and pay them as well as possible. But often it’s the respect that seems most to be missing.
As the obviously snobbish but well-meaning Sir F. W. Fitzwygram wrote in ‘Horses and Stables’ published in the 1800’s. "It is in vain to expect that servants, however good they may be at starting, will long continue to give the time and labour required daily to groom horses, as they ought to be groomed, unless the master is able to and does appreciate the result of their labour."
There are trainers out there who think it’s a game to stiff their help or to pay what they can get away with, not what they can and should. They’re at every racetrack. ‘Two-bit-hustlahs." a retired jockey friend insists. "They oughtta be shot".
That may be a little too drastic (and there’s always the racing office to help with the more blatant cases) but it simply goes to respect, both for the person and for the job.
It’s why we started the ‘Groom of the Month’ at Hastings, (why Great Canadian has offered dinner for two in Silk’s restaurant to the monthly winners). To show the people who work hard and are dedicated to the sport some respect. It is deserved.
Hastings Groom of the Month
Luke McGhie
From Vancouver Luke has worked in Hastings and Woodbine. He runs the barn for trainer Rob Van Overschot and would like to train horses one day. He likes the early mornings and loves horses. His favourite is stakes winner Illusive Force.
A Look at Racing in British Columbia
By Jim Reynolds
Equine Guelph Introduces Groom Training Program
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In response to the industry-wide need for an increased number of educated, dedicated grooms, Equine Guelph is pleased to launch the grooms' skills training program called Groom One. Groom One is the first course in the Industry Skills Program and is designed for newcomers who know little about working as a groom in the racing industry and wish training to be competent, employable grooms at either a racetrack or a training facility.
Cost for 2-day session is $75 (+ GST, total $80.25) and space is limited so sign-up quickly to avoid disappointment. Participants are asked to provide own transportation as sessions will be held at various locations.
To Register visit http://www.equineguelph.ca/educa- tion/industry_index.shtml and please print form and fax to (519) 767-1081 Or contact Gayle Ecker (519) 824-4120, ext 56678 or Susan Raymond ext 54230.
The Wind &
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A serious thunderstorm which came complete with tornado warnings, wreaked havoc on the Willow trees in Woodbine’s walking ring in June.
The fifty-year old trees fell victim to the storm resulting in two of the massive trees having to be cut down. Woodbine has since planted six new trees in the walking ring which include three Oak trees and three additional Willows.
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